Thomas Paine once said, "Hereditary government violates the rights of the governed." Of course Paine referred to the likes of monarchs and generational rule by birth.  However, is our current condition so distant? 

Birth alone may not occasion the chain reaction, per se, but the money accumulated, the networking that is passed along in families, and the media visibility advantages of birth to a high government official are not of little consequence.

Ted Cruz once opined that the conflict, the political contest in this country is not between the Democrats and the Republicans, but between the entrenched established politicians and the citizenry. (I paraphrase).  Too much money and too much time are required to rise to high elective office and only the most driven and well-heeled can meet the criteria. The election cycles begin to blend together and the same characters, or their kin, take the stage.

The pool of candidates sometimes seems a puddle.  Almost insurmountable is the power that comes with the inheritance of the previously elected relative.  Hillary Clinton and Jeb Bush may very well be the choices in 2016, the end products of two giant power structures cultivated over the decades.  Foundations and speaking fees do a poor job of masking money collected for past and future influence.

And those other potential candidates, those who come from the politically unwashed citizenry, soon meet scathing excavations into their past.  Accuracy of accusations be damned.  The mere  accusatory exercise can be embarrassing and damaging even if proven inaccurate and later withdrawn on page 12.  Cleansing one's past seems like step one for office seekers. That can require some expensive janitorial work.

Bill and Hillary Clinton left office in 2000.  They were all but broke.  Legal bills had been a draining burden.  Flash forward.  Bill Clinton made $17 Million last year in speaking engagements. Hillary can knock out $400,000 for a monotone vapid speech rife with platitudes and banalities.  The Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation seems to create quite a flow of money each year. (Some questions raised.)

And then there is Jeb Bush.  Too bad his name isn't George.  We could have had a George III just 250 years after England.  A full circle, if you will.